


Good Day, Sunshine

by charincharge



Category: MAAS Sarah J. - Works, Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hospital, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Doctor/Patient, F/M, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Fic, Major Character Injury, Sad and Sweet
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:20:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24243460
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charincharge/pseuds/charincharge
Summary: Rowan is an ER doctor. There will be angst.
Relationships: Aelin Ashryver Galathynius | Celaena Sardothien & Rowan Whitethorn, Aelin Ashryver Galathynius | Celaena Sardothien/Rowan Whitethorn
Comments: 12
Kudos: 77





	Good Day, Sunshine

Rowan had been working nonstop for the last sixty-eight hours and was exhausted. And with the cold winter rain still coming down in torrents, flooding the slick city streets, he didn’t anticipate the last hours of his shift letting up.

He swallowed the last bite of his dry turkey sandwich before throwing the wrapper into the cafeteria trash. He rubbed his temples, squinting his eyes against the harsh fluorescent light of the stark white hospital and made his way toward the pit to see where he was needed.

As he walked, he heard the familiar sound of an ambulance approaching. He listened closely as the ER doors opened and tried to get the details from the EMT loading whoever it was onto the gurney. He braced himself, ready to help, the familiar pulse of adrenaline waking his foggy brain and startling him into action. He jogged toward the group of doctors barreling down the hallway, racing toward the emergency room.

“Jane Doe. Mid twenties. Severe injuries sustained after a head on collision with a semi.” The EMT frowned. “Likely broken rib. Definitely other internal bleeding. The windshield shattered. She has multiple lacerations to the face, and there’s a large glass shard puncturing her chest. Unsure how deep it goes.”

Rowan stepped aside after hearing the injuries. This poor woman would be rushed into emergency surgery with an orthopedic specialist, a surgeon far above his punching weight. He only refocused when the gurney pushed by him, and his finger brushed against a cold hand, sending a shockwave up his arm. His eyes shot open, examining every inch of the woman in front of him. Fighting for consciousness and covered in blood, it didn’t matter. Rowan would recognize that face anywhere.

Her eyes fluttered open for a millisecond, giving Rowan a peek of that bright turquoise and gold that haunted his dreams each night. It’d been four long years since Aelin left their apartment in the dead of night, leaving nothing but the engagement ring he’d spent all of med school saving up for on their kitchen counter and the word – _sorry—_ written on the back of a 7-11 receipt from when she’d insisted they get blue raspberry slushies earlier that afternoon.

Rowan was going to pass out. He struggled to take a breath, panic creeping across his chest and sinking into his gut as Aelin’s eyes widened and then rolled up into her head, her body slumping unceremoniously onto the pillow behind her.

“Come on, stay with us.”

Rowan stumbled over his own feet as he tried to run forward, following the strands of matted golden hair caked with blood and shards of glass. Oh. So many shards of glass. He had to look away, his breath catching behind his ribs and fighting against the fast thrumming of his pulse

“…the child seems to be fine, driver took most of the impact, but she should be checked out for a concussion.” A beat. “Dr. Whitethorn? Hello?”

There was nothing Rowan could do about Aelin now, he thought to himself. He’d check on her later. She’d be okay. She _had_ to be okay. And there were other people who needed his help tonight. People he would be able to help

Rowan shifted his focus back toward the doors, ready to assist the next emergency patient, only to see a small girl gripping onto a well-worn stuffed bunny, cheeks stained red with tears, slowly trudging down the hall.

As the girl looked up into his eyes, there was no mistaking who the child belonged to – only one woman in the world had those bright turquoise eyes lined with gold. Well, now, two. But it was the shock of silver blonde ringlets that had Rowan’s head spinning. He crouched down to greet the child, as he’d been trained.

“H-hey there.” He couldn’t believe how shaky his own voice sounded to his own ears. He cleared his throat. “What’s your name?”

The little girl was silent. Her grip on the bunny increased as a silent tear ran down her cheek and dribbled over her chin onto her green striped pajamas.

“Listen, I know that you’re probably really scared right now.” The little girl tentatively nodded. “That was your mom driving the car, right?” Another tiny nod. Rowan exhaled a breath he didn’t even realize he’d been holding. “Okay. She’s with some other doctors right now. They’re going to take really good care of her, which is good because she had some really big scrapes.”

Rowan looked up at the EMTs, trailing behind her. He recognized one of them, a burly man named Lorcan who he’d become friendly with due to their constant overlapping night shifts and similar don’t-fuck-with-me vibes.

“Did she come with a guardian?” he asked Lorcan.

Lorcan shook his head. “No. We tried to find an emergency contact, but we couldn’t locate a license and the phone was completely demolished in the crash. The girl won’t talk, so we have no clue how to reach anyone. Should we call CPS?”

“No,” Rowan bellowed, more forcefully than he anticipated. He stood and ran a hand through his matching silver hair. “I’m, uh… I know her mom. I can get an emergency contact down here for her.”

“Oh shit,” Lorcan said with a chuckle. “Dr. Whitethorn, have you been a secret baby daddy this whole time?” He looked between Rowan and the child with an amused look. “Is that why you refuse to go out with any of the fine ass nurses who bat their eyes at you all day? Man, this is some _Greys Anatomy_ shit.”

“It would appear so,” Rowan mumbled quietly, but not quietly enough because Lorcan paled and stopped his chuckling immediately.

“For real? Oh _shit._ That’s fucked.”

Rowan tilted his head up and closed his eyes. A throaty laugh peeled out of his chest. “It really is.”

Rowan crouched back down and stared into those aqua eyes again, nearly knocking him out again. He didn’t know if he’d ever get used to that.

“My name is Dr. Whitethorn, and I know this probably sounds crazy, but I’m friends with your uncle.” The little girl furrowed her brow, her lips pursing curiously. “I know. You don’t believe me. But, if I call him, would that make you feel better?”

The girl thought carefully for a second, her little face contemplating his words with the utmost seriousness. She reached out a free hand and placed it on Rowan’s wrist, and he had to bite his tongue to prevent himself from gasping.

“Can we FaceTime him?” replied the softest sweetest voice he’d ever heard. Tears sprung to the corners of his eyes, but he blinked them away quickly. Rowan nodded and pulled his phone from his pocket and prayed that Aedion hadn’t changed his number in four years.

The phone rang only once before Aedion’s face filled the screen. “This has got to be a butt dial…” Aedion said with a chuckle.

Rowan rubbed at his chin. “Sadly, no. I need you to come down to Orynth Memorial. Everything is okay, but—”

“Uncle Ae,” the soft voice called again, reaching for the phone. Rowan handed it over, letting her small hands grip the phone and center her face within the screen

“Soleil?” Aedion’s voice shook with disbelief, and this time Rowan couldn’t hold back his gasp. “Where’s your mommy?”

Soleil. Rowan couldn’t begin to unpack that detail right now because he watched as her lip began to quiver and tears poured over onto her cheeks at an alarming rate.

“Sunshine, give the phone back to the nice man. Everything is going to be okay,” Aedion said with a soothing tone. Like a good girl Soleil handed the phone back to Rowan, who stretched upwards and away from the sitting child.“Rowan,” Aedion called from the other side of the screen. “What the fuck is going on?”

Rowan took a deep breath and attempted to compose himself and put on his best professional voice, but one look at Aedion and he knew he was fucked. “There was a car accident,” he stammered. “Aelin is in emergency surgery. I don’t know anything beyond that, but Soleil was in the back of the car, and I need permission from next of kin to examine her.”

Aedion blinked. Then blinked again. “I’m on my way. But Rowan. You’re her father. Give yourself fucking permission to examine her.” As the phone went dark, the words hit him like a brick to the gut. He knew, obviously, he knew as soon as he saw her face and heard her name. But to hear it out loud…

A small hand grasped at his, letting him lead the way, now that he’s received Aedion’s seal of approval. “See? I told you I knew your uncle,” Rowan said, watching as Soleil’s grip on her bunny loosened slightly.

Tiny legs dangled back and forth as Rowan hoisted her up onto an exam table. Rowan looked her over, doing a cursory check. No scrapes. No shards of glass made their way onto her. He’s grateful. She’s so fucking tiny. He couldn’t imagine the damage that could be done to her. Rowan pulled out his standard ER paperwork. Burying himself in work to push away the pain was something he was always a pro at.

Rowan flipped through the paperwork and stared at the blank line – _Guardian/Next of Kin (Please write relationship)._ His eyes pored over the page so intensely he was surprised they didn’t burn a hole in it, but sure enough he took out his faithful green pen and wrote his name in careful print. Rowan Whitethorn. Father. His heart stuttered looking at it. How could Aelin do this to him? _Why_ would Aelin do this to him? He shook his head, refocusing on the girl in front of him. He’d think about those questions later. For now, he had an exam to complete.

Line by line, Rowan made sure nothing went unchecked. Each vital. Each reflex. He lingered at her heartbeat, letting it fill his eardrums. Though Soleil remained silent for the majority of the time, he watched with relief as she became more and more relaxed, her tense posture and rigid grip on the bunny finally relaxing to the point where it was resting in her lap.

Rowan’s phone buzzed. _I’m here_. Was all it said.

“You’re sure you’re feeling okay?” he asked Soleil one last time. She nodded and yawned. As Rowan glanced at the clock, he was shocked to learn he should have clocked out over an hour ago. And though Rowan should have probably led Soleil out to Aedion, dealing with that was not within his capability at the moment. It was as if he reached max capacity all at once.

Rowan took his daughter’s hand and walked her down to the pit again. It was quiet for once. Maybe the rain had finally stopped, he pondered. The nurse at the center’s eyes widened upon seeing Rowan’s approach. He knew what it must have looked like. Actually, it was what it looked like, and he couldn’t be bothered about it just now.

“Did Jane Doe come out of surgery yet?” Rowan asked the nurse. She looked over her shoulder at the large board behind her. “I think so? I just saw Doctor Towers a second ago…”

As if she’d been called, Doctor Towers rounded the corner, looking worse for wear. Rowan tensed as she took in the scene in front of her. A warm smile spread across Doctor Towers face. “Rowan, I didn’t know you had a—”

Rowan cut her off, for fear of confusing the poor child. Hadn’t she been through enough tonight?

“I’m actually a friend of Soleil’s mom’s. The Jane Doe you just operated on. Her family is in the waiting room. Her name is Aelin Galythinius. They’d probably like to be informed of how it went. And maybe you can take her out to them?”

Doctor Towers nodded in understanding. “Of course. I’ll take her right out and let them know the surgery went well and that Aelin is an incredibly strong woman to have somehow had a shard of glass miss all her important organs and arteries and that she’s lucky a cracked rib is the worst of her injuries.”

Rowan nodded, appreciative of the unnecessary info dump. His heart felt ten times lighter.

“Oh, and Rowan?” she said, another soft smile gracing her face. “She’ll be sleeping it off for a while in room 4C.”

Rowan signed Soleil’s discharge papers and slumped over the desk, waving goodbye with his last ounce of energy. He was long overdue for going home, but his feet led him down the hall regardless. Around the corner to where a golden-haired angel from a different lifetime slept.

He slouched into the corner chair and trained his eyes on her. Watching every rise and fall of her bandaged chest with hawk-like vision. He’d lost track of the time when Aelin’s eyes finally opened and locked onto his. He waited four years for this, but he wasn’t ready.

“Of all the hospitals, in all the towns, in all the world…” Rowan chuckled, but he heard the strain behind it and saw the panic flare in those wildfire eyes. Aelin reached blindly beside her, searching for a small warm body that’s not there.

“Aedion took her home.”

“I thought you were a hallucination,” she whispered hoarsely. “When they brought me in.It used to happen to me all the time after she was born. When I was so tired I couldn’t function. I’d see you. And hear you. You’d always be giving me really terrible parenting advice like – just let her have one more cookie or who cares if she sleeps in your bed tonight? She thinks I’m the good cop, but I’m not. It’s always been you.

Rowan rubbed at his temples again, hoping it would alleviate some of the tension, but it didn’t. All he felt was sad.

“You named her Soleil.

“So I can sing her ‘Good Day Sunshine’ every morning,” she croaked, “because every day with—”

“—our child is a good day,” they finished together.

“God _damn it_ , Aelin.” He stood suddenly and slammed his fist against the wall. He shut his eyes. He felt them burning with tears, and she didn’t deserve to see that. “Why?”

“Because I was twenty two and scared, and I was going to get rid of her. And I knew you’d never let me.”

“I’d never _let_ you?” Rowan roared. “Aelin. I would have done anything for you. If you weren’t ready to have a baby I would _never_ have forced you to keep it. Never. And if you think… for one second… that I’m the type of person who would. Then… then, maybe it is good that you left. Because you never knew me at all.” He was shaking with rage. Never in his entire life had he felt so wronged. So misunderstood.

“No, Rowan, not like that…”

“And you were just never going to tell me? I know Orynth’s big, but it’s not _that_ big. Clearly.”

“You don’t understand.

“I don’t think I’m ever going to.” Rowan finally let the exhaustion win and tears spilled forth. “Have a nice life, I guess.”

Rowan walked out and didn’t look back as he heard her muffled sobs. He was ready to sleep.


End file.
